Portable radios are often used in conjunction with vehicular adapters in order to facilitate hands free communications as well as provide charging capability to the portable radio within an automotive environment.
The main difficulties associated with vehicular adapter design are the mechanical engagement and disengagement and the electrical connectivity to the portable device. For portable radio devices having more than one connector located on different sides of the device, the mechanical interface and the electrical coupling to the vehicular adapter become even more difficult. The engagement and disengagement of the portable radio device having multiple contacts located on different sides typically requires several operations to engage and disengage the portable device to and from the vehicular adapter. Additionally, the portable radio must be fully operational under a variety of vehicular environments including vibration, shock, and even certain collision conditions. The ease of manufacturing, cost and ease of use for the end user need to be taken into account in the design of a vehicular adapter.
Past vehicular adapters have been configured such that the portable radio is inserted in one direction or in one manner. The user interface is therefore the same for all vehicles and for all users which may not be optimal under all conditions. Additionally, as the number of interface contacts increase on the portable radio device so does the number and complexity of the interconnect mechanisms on the vermicular adapter. Multiple contacts on a portable radio typically require several operations or steps to engage the radio into the adapter.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved mechanism for engaging and disengaging a portable radio to and from a vehicular adapter and maintaining a reliable electrical interface.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.